One Way Ticket?

[Badgerboy]

Hi,

If I haven't secured a job in NZ before our house sells we want to just go and try and find a job when we arrive on a 6 month holiday visa.

As we won't have a return ticket will this cause a problem? What if I can prove I have interviews lined up etc.

I appreciate this is a risky approach but I believe we will live in NZ and so we are willing to make the trip, get a job then apply for the visa from within the country.

Any advice on the airport customs around a 1 way ticket if you don't have a visa would be good as well as any other relevant advice.

Thanks

Nathan

[girlwithanewf]

If you don't have a visa allowing you to live in NZ and just have a one way ticket then they will not under any circumstances let you on the plane. They always check your visa before issuing boarding cards.

[RedVee]

Without a visa you need proof if your return within the period you are allowed to stay, which I assume is 6 months on a visa waiver visit. You will be refused entry at the New Zealand border without it. I travelled as far as NZ without anyone asking to see my visa in the UK, UAE or MEL though. I was travelling on a one way ticket paid for with frequent flyer miles.

Two suggestions. A cash one way ticket is usually very expensive, and won't save you much over a return, if anything, so you might as well book a return - just ditch the last portion. Or, if you can afford it and are really sure, book a fully refundable one way back from NZ and cancel it later and get your money back. These are eye wateringly expensive due to the flexibility.

[Badgerboy]

I guess I could pay for a return ticket then for the 6 months but not use it if I have secured a job?

[doreysc]

If finance is an issue there is only a small difference between the cost of one way and return tickets, I'd say the return will only add about 10-20% on to the cost of a single.

Simon

[G-Mo]

You don't need a return ticket, but you will need proof of an onward ticket. There's a difference. Return would be back to UK, onward would be to, say, Australia.

[RedVee]

You need a ticket for onward travel to a country that you have a right of entry into. So a ticket to OZ might satisfy NZ, but only if you had the relevant paperwork for that (E-visitor visas are free for OZ). May be cheaper than a one way ticket back to the UK, but as previously stated a return ticket throwing away the last segment would probably be cheaper still. And if you do have to go back (fingers crossed that you get your job and you don't), it's your safety net.

[Perick]

They check your onward ticket twice. I had a problem like that. I had one-way ticket to nz and visa waiver passport. I purchased another ticket to OZ as onward ticket (just in case). They demanded it twice: while boarding in LA and Border control in Auckland. Definitely, you need a ticket.

[Badgerboy]

Thanks for all the replies I will get a return or onward ticket and hope not to have to use it.